Thanks dude! Yeah, I like the idea of Hoist having sort of awkward proportions, but the arms could be slightly longer. I'm hoping that they might fit better on the slightly smaller PRID version of Bulkhead. Hey, good point...he's already got those orangey bits in his deco... though he's probably going to be harder to obtain. zmog
SMOG, I am trying some gundam 1/100 arms for him, specifically RX-78-2 MG. He looks kinda okay, but aesthetically abit out. I will post pics one my damn camera decides not to act up.
1/100 Gundam arms should be just about the right size, and although they're usually generic enough for Transformers, maybe it's the Prime aesthetic that's throwing it off. My only issue with Gundam arms is that they're often pretty flimsy. The whole weight feels wrong... at least if you're someone who likes to manhandle his Transformers, like me. Pew-pew! zmog
Have you concidered arm options? The Armada Red Alert had I think 3 different sizes, and seems to me that one of them ought to marry up well.
I don't really like Armada Red Alert's arms... they have too much of that RID/Beast Wars roundness to them. Also I think they'd be too big (though I don't know what you mean by "3 sizes"... there was only one Armada Red Alert, right? The arms I currently have there are the Cybertron Red Alert's. I think they can still work, with a bit of playing around (and on the PRID version). In any case, there's plenty of room in both versions of Bulkhead to add new arms, since his original arms aren't really part of the transformation and are huge in relation to his body... so at least that part will be easy. zmog
Here's a group shot with Faith Leader and a few Universe molds to give you a size idea of RiD Bulkhead. He's almost exactly as tall as the Universe Lambo mold, perhaps a mm taller. My big word of warning: RiD Bulkhead has a tiny head and an even smaller transformation cavity for the head. His jaw literally comes up over his eyes to fit in the compartment. To get a bigger head to fit, you'd have to cut some space from the rear-end backpack. I think knocking out the hinge pin and replacing it with a screw on either side should let you cut the middle out to make room for Hoist's noggin.
Hey, thanks for the reference picture and info! That's a big help... he's even a bit smaller than I expected (though the Lambor brothers are pretty tall). Good to know about the head cavity size, since the G1 Hoist head I was using is pretty huge, even for such a tiny little G1 figure. If I have to cut a bit out of the back of the cab, that won't be so bad since I'll have to add a light bar and towing winch too, so I can probably cover my cuts somehow. Here's a question that has been dogging me. In most respects, the construction of the PRID Bulkhead seems to work better for my plans, but I'm still wondering about those doors that fold over his chest. On the PRID mold, is there any way to push them back out of the way, so the arms can come forward more? It looks like on both versions of Bulkhead, they may obstruct the shoulder somewhat. zmog
No, where I have them on the side is about as far away as they're going to move. On the bright side, it's only the front doors that're attached, so they don't really get in the way of shoulder articulation.
Hmmm... looks like I'm going to have to figure that out. Maybe it won't bother me too much. The doors were kind of in the way on the FE version, but I didn't want to cut up such a rare figure. Thanks for the info. Haha! Yeah... some guys on this forum who were present when I received my FE Bulkhead, can attest to the fact that within about 10 minutes after pulling him out of the package, I was transforming him this way and pulling his arms off and saying "he really looks a lot like Hoist like this, doesn't he?" It matches well... Brawn not so much (besides the vehicle mode of course). Missed opportunity on Hasbro Asia's part, I'd say. zmog
Hmm, it's hard to think up alternatives for the door since I don't have the figure on hand anymore. I wound up returning it to Wal Mart as it had two right elbows. The black shoulder guards are really just the rear door windows. You might be able to glue/hinge the front doors to the rear windows and swing everything over his shoulders. And I'm personally holding out hope that Hasbro'll cook up a "Trailcutter" repaint of the mold in the same spirit of PRiD Hot Shot.
Sorry, I was just trying to be funny. The last dozen comments in this thread have been "don't kill your FE version, use the PRID version!", and I keep saying "Don't worry, that's exactly what I'm planning to do", but everybody only reads the first post, so yeah... I've since added a note to the first post. zmog
Any progress on this? I feel that the FE mold is better than the PRID one, so I'm hoping to get a Brawn to take apart. I can't really tell if the PRID mold uses the arms in transformation, and it looks a bit too small to be a really good Hoist.
It's true that the PRID version is a bit smaller, but he's still big enough to seem thick and bulky next to the deluxes on my classics shelf, which works for Hoist, I think. From looking at comparison galleries, I'd say that the FE version of Bulkhead is way nicer as far as being a treat toy is concerned, but the PRID version seems like the mechanics of his transformation might suit this mod a bit better. From what I can see, there's going to be plenty of room for alternate arms in the transformation, and a better connection point for his towing apparatus. Of course, I haven't been able to confirm this yet, since PRID Bulkhead is still not available where I live. Once I can get my hands on one, and make a decision about which mold will work best, I'll be able to move along with this project, hypothetically. In the meantime, I'm just waiting. Man... distribution SUUUUUCKS this year. zmog
I think the Brawn is the one figure in the Asia Exclusive line that ISN'T getting a domestic release. As such, it's going to be an expensive import... I'd rather just wait for the PRID version, so I can see if it's a better mold to work with. I already know that the FE version isn't ideal. zmog
